Editor: What To Know
- What we really want is to be able to be in a space and not worry about its cleanliness or hidden impact on our health.
- Used in hospital settings for decades to keep surfaces and air in optimal health, other indoor spaces are catching on to UV’s reputation as a safe and effective disinfectant solution.
- In some cases, it has also put an emphasis on UV disinfectant as a safe, alternative solution.
Disinfection: Even though they go unseen, everyday spaces like offices, public restrooms, schools, restaurants, hospitals, airplanes, and gyms are breeding grounds for harmful bacteria and viruses.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the danger of unclean air and public surfaces. In some cases, it has also put an emphasis on UV disinfectant as a safe, alternative solution.
Our lives are made to be interconnected, and we cannot escape the public space —nor do we really want to. What we really want is to be able to be in a space and not worry about its cleanliness or hidden impact on our health. This kind of peace of mind is especially crucial when it’s a place we’re required to be, like our jobs, school, or a medical facility.
The solution to this scary germ problem? Routine disinfection using UV disinfectants in the public space. Here’s what you should know about these processes.
Understanding Sanitization, Sterilization, and Disinfection
Cleaning is the first line of defense to creating a healthy indoor environment for occupants, but it shouldn’t end there. To understand what type of cleaning a business needs, it’s important to know the distinction between sanitization (cleaning), sterilization, and disinfection.
- Sanitization (Cleaning): The process of washing, cleaning, or removing dirt. This eliminates most dust, debris, and germs found on a surface. This process provides some protection to an individual getting sick, but it does not eliminate the microbial population by a specified amount.
- Sterilization: The decontamination process that handles and kills all kinds of pathogenic microbes and forms of bacteria, fungi, and viruses present on a surface. The use of chemical, heat, and/or pressure is applied. This process is used to decontaminate food, medicine, and surgical instruments.
- Disinfection: Having a stronger effect than sanitizer on certain pathogenic microbes, this method destroys pathogenic microorganisms, removing most organisms present on a surface. Taking disinfection efforts means infections cannot pass. This process is used to decontaminate surfaces and air to prevent infection.
How Does Ultraviolet Disinfection Technology Work?
Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) is a disinfection method that uses short-wavelength ultraviolet light to kill or disable microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses. The radiation from UV light destroys the outer layer of a microorganisms’ cell, changing its DNA. When this happens, the cells are unable to perform their functions or reproduce, thus crippling their ability to multiply, spread, or infect new hosts.
Because it uses light rather than chemical or heat application to destroy bacteria, UV technology is an environmentally safe method of disinfection. Used in hospital settings for decades to keep surfaces and air in optimal health, other indoor spaces are catching on to UV’s reputation as a safe and effective disinfectant solution.
UV technology harnesses the power of sunlight, which has been proven to have antibacterial effects to kill germs rapidly, starting within seconds.
Benefits of Using UV Light for Disinfection
One of the brightest benefits of using a UV disinfectant is that it’s non-toxic. It’s a physical process, not a chemical one. This non-toxic disinfection method makes it safe for medical, hospital, and restaurant industries, as it’s safe to use on food and non-food items.
It’s also an affordable, and portable, solution. UV disinfectant units can operate autonomously when installed properly, cutting out the labor costs associated with other costly methods. When you are ready to disinfect a room, these products can get the job done without you even being there.
Spaces Made Safe With UV Disinfectant
Let the environments where you live, work, and play be just that, and not breeding grounds for deadly pathogens. Keep your space safe by using a specialized UV disinfectant and easily protect your world from germs.
